Enroll In Obamacare Using...Big Data?

The deadline for Obamacare is almost here: February 15th. In fact, if you do not enroll, you may be subject to a fine.

So to help with the process, there’s a Silicon Valley startup, called Stride Health, that uses Big Data analytics to reduce costs and maximize benefits. Actually, even if you already enrolled in Obamacare, the process is fairly simple to switch to another plan – even now.

To learn more about Stride Health, I recently talked to the company’s CEO Noah Lang.

“The language of health insurance is very technical,” he said. “So our mission is to simplify things.”

With Stride Health, the initial questionnaire takes only about three to five minutes to complete. And yes, you can do this with your smartphone (about 45% of Stride Health’s customers make a purchase with a mobile device).

A key to Stride Health is that you get a true cost of your health coverage. “The big mistake people make is to just look at the premiums,” said Noah. “But there is more to the cost of health insurance.”

Interestingly enough, the Big Data engine will do things like evaluate the costs of your prescriptions in your neighborhood and even predict the kinds of emergencies you may face. To do this, Stride Health analyzes a huge data set of personal care consumption, which is tailored to your location and demographics. But the system also maps to your doctor networks as well as the medical procedure pricing in your area.